


Pathfinder's Codex: Chapter One: Dying

by TheEvilestOfTwins



Series: Pathfinder's Codex [2]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 08:10:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14765820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEvilestOfTwins/pseuds/TheEvilestOfTwins





	Pathfinder's Codex: Chapter One: Dying

There's no reason to sugar coat it... you're gonna die. Alot. Basically every Guardian accepts this.

I mean, for Light's sake, in the time it took me to write that first sentence, I watched five Guardians jump off the tower balcony because, and I quote, "We were bored."

Death is even what I would say is the only thing every Guardian has in common with one another. It's a prerequisite to even start the job.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that  _EVERYONE_ is okay with it, especially at the beginning. Why would you be? I was an amnesiac in the middle of a rusted out car yard littered with corpses when my Ghost first revived me, the icy grip of death still fresh in my mind. Last thing I wanted was to go back.

But in spite of this, I died anyway, as we all did. And while I would like to say it was the result of a fantastic and epic battle, my body falling only once I had been riddled in a hail of bullets and hellfire; the truth is that I was punched... like really hard... by a Guardian.

Yes it hurt, (Especially since she did the whole lightning punch thing) and yes it was embarrassing, but it was also the rite of passage all Guardians face.

Now, years later as I write this Codex, I have learned some the more refined secrets of death in our profession. Of these, I will share three; the rest you'll learn on the job.

1) Dying alone

No, this doesn't mean adopting fifty cats and settling in the woods far away. I mean, yeah, you would die alone, but that's not the point. This means dying while you're solo in the field.

This will happen to hunters more than anyone else, simply by our stoic and cool nature. It makes us go lone wolf alot, but this poses a unique danger: making sure you can come back.

Reviving without help is time consuming, and in that time, the enemy that killed you can close distance, you can get surrounded by a swarm of thrall, or that Vex portal you got sent to deactivate will just keep spilling the mechanized douches out, just to name some possibilities.

So your best bet is a back-up plan. Always having a plan-b I'll cover later in the book, but here i mean things like... sync a grenade on your belt to your vitals so it dets on death. It gets rid of those pesky thrall when they get in your face outta nowhere.

Or you could make sure any routes to your sniper nest are thoroughly booby trapped as you secure it.

I've even known one Guardian to instruct her Ghost so that, upon death, it would transmit a request for a Cabal orbital bombardment on her location. Watched a ketch get caught in that once, and I barely recognized it a minute later.

In short, always think about how to buy your Ghost enough time to gather the light it needs to get you up.

2) Dying in a group

When in a fireteam, someone will probably die at some point. Maybe you, maybe a friend, maybe the random dude the Vanguard told you could hold his own despite empirical evidence. The important thing to remember is that there is an established etiquette for this.

We point and laugh.

I don't know why but bodies always land in the funniest poses. It's also the only time you can laugh at a titan for lying down on the job.

Once done laughing, the one closest to the Ghost starting the respawn process moves to donate light to speed it up, while the third provides covering fire. If done properly, the Guardian is only down a short time and the mission continues as planned. 

Now you wonder "what if I'm the last one standing!?" Short answer? Run.

Fall back and lead whoever or whatever your fighting away from your friends. You'll either buy one enough time get up by themselves, or you can loop back when the coast is clear and help then.

Course if you're a nightstalker you've got the whole invisibility thing that helps too. Just disappear and a few seconds later there's now two Guardians in the middle of the fight out of thin air.

3) Dying with style (and purpose)

Sometimes, you know you're gonna die. So... why not have fun with it?

You just slip of a cliff? Why not score a few points for style as you dive down?

Grenade land at you're feet? Pose for your rapidly approaching flight.

Have some strange disease you got from kissing a fallen just to see what would happen? Make sure you go out butt naked in the cosmodrome waving around a lamp and empty sake bottle. (Don't ask, it's a long story.)

You can also get practical with it. There's even a story out there about someone who managed to kill a target by having their Ghost hold on the revive until it was just the right time. I.e. right in front of him.

Long story short here? Learn to accept death If you haven't already, because otherwise it will rule you forever. If you have, well remember to keep your humor up about it.


End file.
